The present invention concerns a shifter for an automotive transmission, and more specifically concerns a drop-in shifter having a base and a cover configured to assemble to the base in a manner that facilitates ease of assembly.
Drop-in shifters are commonly used with manually shifted transmissions for vehicles. Typically, the drop-in shifters are assembled at a manufacturing facility using various tools, fixturing and machinery. However, there is a desire to make the drop-in shifters modular in design and delay their assembly to reduce the need for costly preassembled inventories. For example, this would allow specific shift sticks and springs to be selected and assembled to the drop-in shifter immediately prior to installation into a vehicle, thus allowing the assembly process to accommodate a "custom build". Further, it is desirable to minimize the cost of assembly and further simplify the assembly process so that the assembly can be readily completed at diverse locations without the need for special tools and highly skilled labor. For example, this is particularly desirable where the drop-in shifter components are manufactured in one location and then shipped overseas for later assembly. Still further, it is desirable to keep the number of parts required for assembly to a minimum. Thus, a shifter solving the aforementioned problems is desired.